Self-priming deep well pump system



Oct. 25, 1949. JACUZZI ET A v2,486,288

SELF-PRIMING DEEP WELL PUMP'SYSTEM Filed March 6, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [NV NTORS. 9 (SAND/D0 JACU 2/ JOHN E ARMSTRONG BY A T TORNEV Oct. 25; 1949. c. JACUZZI ETAL 2,486,288

SELF-PHIMING DEEP WELL PUMP SYSTEM Filed March 6,vl945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v IN N 0R5 CAND/DO JACJiZf JOHN E ARMSTRONG A TTORNEV 1949- c. JACUZZI ET AL SELF-PRIMING DEEP WELL PUMP SYSTEM 5 Shee't sSheet 3 Filed March 6, 1945 m N w mac R zm 0 EU T m m 1 A A A 0 O.

m 1% ON CJB Patented Oet. 25, 1949 2,486,288 SELF-PRIMING nEEr WELL rum SYSTEM Candido Jacuzzi and John E. Armstrong, Berkeley, Calii., asslgnors to Jacuzzi Bros Incorporated, a corporation of California Application March 6,1945, Serial No. 581,212 10 Claims. (Cl. 10H) Our invention relates to pump systems, and

more particularly to a deep well pump system tem leading from the well to the intake of the I pump, regardless of pressure conditions therein.

Among the objects of our invention are:

(1) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system;

(2) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system having no foot valve;

(3) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system having no valves at inaccessible distances below the pump;

(4) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system which is self-priming;

(5) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system having no working parts in the well;

(6) To provide a novel and improved deep well pump system which is self-priming and requires pump system capable of pumping a substantial amount of air without losing prime.

Additional objects of our invention will be brought out in the following description of two embodiments of our invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation and partly in section of a pump system of the deep well type, depicting one embodiment of our invention;

Figure 2 is a view in section, taken in the plane 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view in elevation and partly in section of a modified form of our invention.

The system of Figure 1 includes apump l preferably of the impeller type, having an intake opening 3 and a discharge passage 5. A suction line 1 connected to the intake opening, extends in an installation, to the bottom of the well,

where it terminates in a strainer 9. For deep well operation, such suction line includes an injector assembly l3, more commonly known as an eductor, and involving the customary nozzle l5 and venturi ll in substantial alignment, the nozzle in turn representing the termination of a pressure line 19 connecting the nozzle to the discharge passage of the pump.

includes a priming chamber 2| preferably between the injector assembly I3 and the pump l, and at substantially the level of the intake opening 3 of the pump, the chamber reaching a height suilicient to support a liquid level above the pump impeller 23.

In both the suction line 1 and the pressure line l9, we provide a self-closing valve and 21, respectively, which, in the absence of pump operation, close both lines and preclude liquid in the priming chamber 2| from draining down into the well. Such valves are designed to open during operating cycles of the pump, to unblock both the pressure line and suction line for conventional operation, the priming chamber serving to assure proper functioning of the pump during starting air-bound.

We prefer to embody the priming chamber 2| in the pressure tank 29 to which the discharge passage 5 from the pump is generally connected, by including in the pressure tank, a horizontally disposed concavo-convex partition 3| along the general lines of the teachings of the application of Candide Jacuzzi for Pump system, Serial No. 350,201, filed Aug. 3, 1940, now Patent No. 2,354,811 of August 1, 1944. Y Y Y The portion of the tank above the partition 3| represents the pressure chamber 33 and has an opening for connection to the pump discharge passage, besides a discharge spigot 35 for withdrawal of water as needed. I

The lower portion, which represents the priming chamber 2|, has an inlet opening with which the well portion 31 of the suction line communicates, through the previously referred to selfclosing valve 25 and a passage 38 from said valve; and an outlet for communication with the intake opening of the pump, through a passage 39 constituting the upper end portion of the suction line. The pump discharge passage 5 and this upper end portion of the suction line between the priming chamber and the pump are preferably iormed as an integral part of a casting 4| which houses the pump impeller 23, such casting being designed to house and support the selfclosing valves 25 and 21 and provide the passages associated with these valves and which are necessary to complete the flow path of liquid in the pump'system.

In this respect, the casting preferably provides I apair of vertically aligned valve chambers 43 and 45 partitioned oil from each other by a metallic bellows 41. The upper chamber has a In the present system, the suction line also 05 side wall opening 49 for connection to the pressure line l9, and a horizontal pump discharge passage connecting opening 5|, the rim of which forms a seat 53 for the valve 11.

The lower chamber 45, like the upper chamber 43, is also provided with a wall opening 55, which could be somewhat larger in diameter than the opening 49 for direct connection to the well portion of the suction line which leads down into the well. This same chamber also has a valve opening 51 which is disposed in alignment with the upper valve opening 5| and communicates with the passage 38 to the inlet opening of the priming chamber. For ease of manufacture, such valve opening is formed in a disk 6| threaded into position through an opening in the bottom of the casting, closable by a threaded plug 63.

The valves 25 and 21 are similar in construction and preferably of the disk type provided with a seating gasket 65 and having upstanding guide pins 61 extending through the respective valve openings. They are coupled together into a valve assembly, by means of a rod 69 passing through and firmly sealed to the bellows 41. This valve assembly is installed with the bellows normally under compression, whereby the valves become self-closing in the absence of any counter-force tending to open the same.

Upon installing a system of the type described, the pump must be given an initial priming, which is accomplished by introducing water into the pressure chamber 33 through a removableplug opening II from where the water runs in reverse direction, through the discharge passage 5 and the impeller 23 of the pump, into the priming chamber 21 until the priming chamber is substantially filled.

The presence of the self-closing valves precludes any of this water from draining into the well through either the pressure line or the suction line, and inasmuch as these valves are disposed above ground level, as represented by the bottom edge of the pressure tank, a minimum amount of water is required to prime the pump.

Upon starting up of the pump, therefore, water from the priming chamber will be pumped backinto the pressure chamber 33 of the pres sure tank 29, and in so doing, the pressure in the discharge passage 5 of the pump will gradually increase as an air cushion in the pressure chamber develops. At the same time, a reduction in pressure will occur in the passage 38 to the intake opening to the priming chamber, which is in the suction line of the pump system. The diiferential pressure on the valve assembly, thus created, will, therefore, be in a direction tending to open the valve assembly, and such opening will occur when the diiferential pressure reaches a value suflicient to overcome the compressive force of the bellows 41.

Upon opening of such valves, therefore, it becomes apparent that both the pressure line and the suction line become open for operation in the lifting of water from the well, to realize conventional operation of the entire system.

When the air cushion pressure in the pressure chamber reaches its desired value, the system, through the automatic operation of a pressure switch, 13 normally included in systems of this type, automatically shuts down.

Following this, the unit pressure will equalize at both ends of the valve assembly, and inasmuch as the lower valve 25 presents a larger area than the upper valve, there will be established a predominance of pressure in the direction of closing, and such predominance of pressure assisted by 4 the action of the bellows, will assure closing of these valves during non-operating conditions of the pump system, even with the pressure chamber at maximum air cushion pressure. Upon closing of the valves, the water in the pressure line and suction line is free to drop to a level which will be supported by atmospheric pressure on the water in the well.

It is important to note that the disposition of the self-closing valve assembly at or above ground level, leaves the portion of the system which is at inaccessible distances below ground, free of any moving parts whatsoever, for the conventional foot valve is no longer needed, and the injector assembly is inherently a type of pump involving no moving parts.

When the priming chamber is embodied in the pressure tank as illustrated and described, a ball valve 15 or corresponding valve may be included in the partition 3| and when so included, the system will take on the added function of separating the air out of the liquid in the suction line during operations of the pump, and upon shut-down of the pump, forcing such separated air into the pressure chamber to replenish loss of air from the air cushion therein. Such mode of operation is fully disclosed and described in the aforementioned application of Candide Jacuzzi for Pump system.

In the system depicted in Figure 4, wherein parts identical to those of Figure 1 bear corre-- sponding reference numerals, the pump discharges into the pressure line 11 exclusively, and the pressure tank 19, instead of being connected to the discharge of the pump I, as in conventional systems, is in this instance connected in the suction line 8|. When so disposed, the pressure tank also takes on the function of a priming chamber.

As in the system of Figure 1, a self-closing valve 83 and 85, respectively, is inserted in both the pressure line and the suction line, at points accessible from the pump or from ground level.

Unlike the system of Figure 1, however, the valve in the suction line is of the check valve type, operative to open in response to pressure of water, rising in the suction line in response to pumping action of the injector assembly l3, while the valve 83 in the pressure line is of the solenoid type, connected in parallel with the pump motor 81 and thereby energized along with the pump motor.

A pressure switch 13 connected in the suction line between the pressure tank 19 and the pump I, will function to control both the operating cycles of .the pump and the opening period of the solenoid operated valve 83 to realize proper pressure conditions in the pressure tank.

The presence of the solenoid operated valve in the pressure line and the check valve in the suction line, preclude drainage of the liquid from the pressure tank down into the well during quiescent periods of the pump, and consequently eliminate any necessity for the conventional foot valve or any other working parts in the well.

The location of the pressure tank in the suction line greatly simplifies the separation of air from the liquid drawn up from the well, for the air will automatically rise to the surface of the liquid in the tank, and inasmuch as this tank is the pressure tank, such air will serve to replenish the air cushion in the most simple and direct manner, without resorting to the more complicated and involved means formerly considered essential in prior art systems.

It t us becomes apparent from the above descriptions oi two embodiments of our invention, that the same fulfill its objects as previously set forth. While we have described these embodiments in considerable detail, the same are subject to alteration and modiflcatiomwithout departing from the fundamental aspects oi. the invention. Accordingly, we do not desire to be limited in our protection to the specific details illustrated and described, except as may be neces'sitated by the appended claims.

We claim: I

1. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, .8. priming chamber, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including said priming chamber and an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, a selfcloslng valve in said suction line and a self-closing valve in said pressure line at accessible distances from said pump and adapted during quiescent periods oi? said pump to retain a liquid level in said priming chamber, and means for opening each oi said valves during operation of said pump.

2. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, a priming chamber, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including said priming chamber and an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage exclusively with said nozdriving means and said electrically energizable valve in response to a drop in priming chamber pressure to a predetermined value.

6. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, 9. priming chamber having connection with said intake openin a suction line to said intake opening 01' said pump and including an injector assembly involving a venturi and a nozzle in alignment therewith, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, and a selfclosing valve assembly blocking said suction and pressure lines during quiescent periods of said pump, said valve assembly being exposed to the differential pressure developed between said suction and pressure lines upon operating said pump with said priming chamber as a source of liquid, to open both said suction and pressure lines.

7. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, 9. priming chamber, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and'including said priming 1 chamber and an injector assembly involving a zle, a self-closing valve in said suction line and ing chamber and an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, self-closing valve means adapted during quiescent periods of said pump to retain a liquid level in said priming chamber, and means for withdrawing liquid from said priming chamber for external use.

4. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, a tank, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including said tank at approximately ground level and an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle at a substantial distance below ground level, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle,

valve means adapted during quiescent periods of said pump to retain a liquid level in said tank, and means for withdrawing liquid from said tank for external use.

5. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage,

means for driving said pump, a priming chamber having connection with said intake opening, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, a selfclosing check valve in said suction line and a self-closing electrically energizable valve in said pressure line adapted during quiescent periods 01 said pump to retain a liquid level in said priming chamber, and means for energizing said pump venturiand a nozzle in alignment therewith, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, and a self-closing valve assembly blocking said suction and pressure lines during quiescent periods of said pump, said valve as-' sembly being exposed to the differential pressure developed between said suction and pressure lines upon operating said pump with said priming chamber as a source of liquid, to open both said suction and pressure lines.

8. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, a pressure tank connecting with said discharge passage and having a partition therein creating a priming chamber, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including said priming chamber and an injector assembly involving a venturi and a nozzle in alignment therewith, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, and a self-closing valve assembly blocking said suction and pressure lines during quiescent periods of said pump, said valve assembly being exposed to the differential pressure developed between said suction and pressure lines upon operating said pump with said priming chamber as a source of liquid, to open both said suction and pressure lines. I

9. In a deep well pump system, a pump havin an intake opening. and a discharge passage, 9. pressure tank connecting with said discharge passage and having a horizontal partition therein creating a pressure chamber and a priming chamber, a suction line to said intake opening of said pump and including said priming chamber and an injector assembly involving a venturi and a nozzle in alignment therewith, a pressure line connecting said discharge passage with said nozzle, a self-closing valve assembly blocking said lines, and a valve in said partition for releasing air from said priming chamber into said pressure chamber.

10. In a deep well pump system, a pump having an intake opening and a discharge passage, a tank, a 'suction line. to said intake opening of said pump and including said tank at approximately ground level and an injector assembly involving a venturi and nozzle at: a substantial 2,486,988 7 8 distance below ground level, a pressure line con REFERENCES CITED necting said discharge passage with said nozzle, means between said pump and injector assembly i x zgg are of record m the adapted during quiescent periods of said pump to retain a. liquid level in said tank, and means 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS for withdrawing liquid from said tank for external Number Name Date 2,056,994 Woods Oct. 13, 1936 gggg figgff 2,246,678 Harris June 24, 1941 2,275,364 Harris Mar. 3, 1942 2,327,637 Harris Aug. 24, 1943 2,354,811 Jacuzzi Aug. 1, 1944 

